


Inside the Halls of Mages

by orphan_account



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Bravil, Gen, Mages Guild, Skingrad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-30
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-21 20:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/904424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots looking into the lives of Mages in the various halls throughout Cyrodiil. I find that the Mages Guild is horribly underrepresented in fanfiction, and hope that this will help with that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bravil Hall: Collaborative Research

                “ _DELPHINE!”_

The screech of outrage cut through the mid-morning quiet of the Bravil Mages Guild Hall like a knife through scrib jelly, deafeningly shrill and promising a gruesome fate to the poor soul who’d managed to bring it about.

                “ _DELPHINE, WHAT DID YOU **DO**_?”

                If Kud-Ei hadn’t been accustomed to such outbursts, she likely would have jumped. As it was, she started only slightly, and then set down the book she had been attempting to enjoy in order to put her head in her hands. She sighed deeply. It looked as if another peaceful morning in her hall was going to be ruined.

                Sure enough, the sound of clattering footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and Kud-Ei caught sight of Aryarie striding down the hallway through her half-opened door. As she watched, the irritated High Elf halted in front of Delphine Jend’s room and began to pound furiously on her door.

                Delphine emerged in her nightgown after a few moments, looking irritated and somewhat abashed. Though fireballs weren’t sparking in her palms (yet), there was definitely a blaze visible in her eyes as she snapped, “What?”

                “What?” Aryarie growled. “You know what! I went to the upstairs library to find a book, and I found that half of the bookshelf had been reduced to cinders! Those were valuable tomes, and I needed them for my research.”

                “You’re not the only one doing research,” Delphine replied disdainfully, her head bent back in order to glare daggers at the much taller woman. “I’m also doing work perfecting my _Enemies Explode_ spell.”

                “What you’re doing isn’t research – it’s destruction!”

                “Precisely.”

                “Arrrgh!” Aryarie cried out in frustration, and Delphine looked extremely pleased with herself.

                Kud-Ei, meanwhile, had decided that enough was enough. Reluctantly hauling herself out her chair, she proceeded into the hallway just in time to witness Aryarie slam her fist into the wall. Unfortunately for her, her hands were used to casting spells and mixing ingredients, not forceful contact with hard objects. Delphine grinned smugly as she clutched her injured hand and began to swear and shout in a most un-scholarly manner. “I hate this research project! I hate this hall! I hate this whole nasty, bug-infested, skooma-sucking town!”

                “Aryarie!” Kud-Ei said sharply, and the Altmer winced and turned towards her, looking half-guilty, half-furious. “Could you please try to settle down? I understand that you’re upset, but shouting isn’t going to help anything.” She gave Aryarie her most severe look, amber Argonian eyes blazing with reproof.

                “And if you’d said one more thing about my city,” Delphine put in, “I’d shoot a fireball right up your-”

                “Delphine!” Kud-Ei hissed as the two of them resumed glaring. “Girls, this really isn’t the time or place for this. Ida and Ardaline are still trying to sleep  – and you both know how much trouble Ardaline’s had with that lately, what with that awful Dunmer stalking her around.” Both of their expressions softened somewhat, and they both cast glances down the hall towards sweet, softspoken Ardaline’s quarters.

                “I hate that dimwitted Varon Vamori,” Delphine sniffed, though in a much quieter voice. “He’s been bothering her for ages. Can’t he see that she wants him to leave her alone?”

                “He makes me sick,” Aryarie agreed venomously. “Something should be done about it.”

                “Indeed,” Kud-Ei said quickly, relieved that they had stopped shouting. She was so relieved, in fact, that she completely missed the look the two exchanged – this one not angry, for once, but excited.

*             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *             *

                Ardaline was more than a little surprised to see Delphine and Aryarie sitting at the table together a few days later, laughing like old friends. Making her way cautiously down the stairs, she was able to make out a tiny snatch of their conversation.

                “-and your potion in his drink worked so well!” Delphine enthused, chuckling into her glass of wine. “He was so unbalanced and confused – I hardly even needed that fireball to push him into the river!”

                “But that was the best part!” Aryarie chortled. “Seeing him drag himself out of the stinking mud with his fancy clothes all singed!” They shared another laugh.

                “One thing is for certain,” Delphine said in satisfaction, “Varon Vamori will be too humiliated to bother our Ardaline anytime soon!”

                And the two of them were too busy toasting each other to notice Ardaline smile fondly at them before slipping back upstairs.

 


	2. Skingrad Hall: The Scamp Incident

                The “Scamp Incident,” Erthor was sure, was going to be the final straw. He’d reached this conclusion about two seconds after he had summoned the thing, and now, wringing his hands on a bench in the lobby of the guild hall, he was still pretty certain. From his position, he could just make out the muffled voice of Adrienne through the thick front door as she tried to smooth things over with the Skingrad city guard. He caught a few phrases: “simple experiment” and “barely dangerous,” then “it did _what_?” and finally, “yes, I’ll be sure to take disciplinary action.” Erthor gulped.

                Adrienne reentered the hall a few moments later, looking supremely irritated. It was bad enough that she’d been torn away from her precious studies, and speaking to an equally-annoyed watchman had been the icing on the sweetroll. In short: things did not look good for him. “Come with me, Erthor,” Adrienne ordered in a clipped tone, and swept up the stairs to the library area. Erthor followed her with dread, gloomily imaging his punishment. Being put in charge of re-ordering the bookshelves again? Getting sent out on another expedition to gather troll fat? Something worse than ever before, certainly. He drew up short, almost stumbling on the steps, as the worse prospect of all occurred to him. _What if he was expelled?_

                Oh, Erthor wasn’t sure if he would be able to bear it if he was expelled. The Mages Guild was the first place he had ever had any friends. At the university, and here in Skingrad, he’d met wonderful mages that he would barely be able to see again, if at all, should he be expelled. Druja, the Argonian he’d studied with and befriended in the Imperial city – who he’d come to know as a slightly-bossy but still caring older sister – what would he do without her? And what about slow, careful Vigge, amiable Sulinus, and even Adrienne? He’d miss this hall, as dysfunctional and inept at problem solving as it was, far too much.

                The Wood Elf had worked himself into a frenzy by the time Adrienne reached the bookshelf and drew up short, turning to stare at him reproachfully. “Now, Erthor,” she demanded, “do you care to tell me what this is all about?”

                “Please, Adrienne, I didn’t mean to –” Erthor began earnestly, but she silenced him with a look. “Well, I was trying an… experiment.”

                Adrienne rolled her eyes skyward. “By Azura, Erthor! How many times have I told you? _No experiments in the Guild Hall._ ”

                “But it wasn’t in the Guild Hall,” Erthor put in quickly. At her confused look, he explained: “I summoned him outside, near the statue of the horsemen.” He looked somewhat pleased with himself for having found this loophole, and Adrienne scowled.

                “Did you, now?” Her tone was dangerous. “And what, exactly, did you summon?”

                The smile slid off of Erthor’s face, and he suddenly became very interested in his shoes. “A scamp.”

                “What?”

                “Half a scamp,” Erthor corrected himself. “I was trying to see if I could summon a smaller scamp, see, but instead I just got half of one.”

“Ah, Erthor,” Adrienne asked delicately, “which half?”

“Erm, the bottom half. Just legs and tail and, well, you know… ” When he saw how appalled she looked, he hastened to add, “And it didn’t do anything or hurt anyone! It just sort of took off running, a little pair of legs!” But the guards had been less than pleased about that, Erthor knew.

Adrienne had closed her eyes, and now she massaged her forehead with her hand. “Half a scamp,” she muttered. Erthor remained silent, still gazing avidly at his toes. She was taking this even worse than he had hoped. Resignedly, he wondered if she’d give him time to pack his things, or if he’d just be thrown into the streets. At last, Adrienne removed her hand and looked back at him.

“Erthor, you know that this cannot continue,” she said sternly, and Erthor bowed his head. “I’m going to have to send you to do your experiments somewhere else.”

“Please, Adrienne, can I just stay here?” Erthor pleaded meekly. “I wouldn’t experiment ever again, and –”

“You said the same thing after the Exploding Watermelon Incident,” Adrienne interrupted him, “and the Upside-Down Shoes Incident, and even after the Angry Sheep Incident. I think that we both know that you cannot keep from experimenting.” She stared at him until Erthor nodded hopelessly, eyes downcast. “Now then,” she continued briskly, “Druja recently informed me that there is an empty cave nearby that she discovered when searching for Cairn Bolete caps. I believe that it is a comfortable distance away from the city and the hall, while still close enough to make it a good place for you to continue your activities, if you must. Is that an agreeable solution?”

Erthor could hardly believe his pointy Bosmer ears. He wouldn’t have to leave? Hope swelled in his chest, and he grinned in wild delight. “Yes!” he exclaimed, and then calmed himself a bit before continuing, “Yes, that sounds wonderful. Thank you, Adrienne!” And, to her extreme shock, he threw his arms around her in a hug before rushing off to give Druja his most heartfelt thanks.

Friends, he reflected, were really the most amazing things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Skingrad Guild Hall is personally my least favorite in Cyrodiil, but I tried to make them a bit less awful. Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This is a work in progress, and I hope to have more up sometime soon.


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